Frindow — Social Networking App for People Who Feel Lonely and Isolated Share: Railwaymen Score Awaiting client review n/a Date Published 21 July 2022 Reading Time 7-Minute Read This social network application aims to lower the feeling of loneliness and isolation by encouraging new friendships. About Company Frindow is a UK startup social networking platform that is dedicated to alleviating loneliness and isolation by encouraging new friendships based on common interests and circumstances. The goal is all about getting you connected and engaged with new people in the same situation as you. Our Work 1. Process The best way to create a successful application is to meet the users’ needs. Just by observing what people have a problem with or how some processes can be facilitated. That’s actually how it was with Frindow. The pain point was an increasing level of loneliness in societies. Marcus Hamilton, CEO of Frindow, found out about this study data and decided to create a social web platform that will be a central hub for all things that can help to make new friends and get connected. Marcus was inspired by his grandmother and how to help people her age break out of isolation and connect with others. Before contacting a software service provider, he prepared deep research about development solutions. Clutch — a USA-based, data-driven field guide for B2B with top web and mobile development rankings was his first choice and he found us through our profile. He made a shortlist of potential companies based in Kraków. Then he traveled to Poland and spent a few days visiting each software company and speaking to managers. He wanted to verify how software development companies organize work and check their approach and methodologies. After visiting about 6 companies, he decided to go with us! Having a technical background and being also a product owner, Marcus took care of a clear vision for his web app and a plan that will allow it to achieve its goals that are a reference point for talks about the value of Frindow, so that he and our team know if they are going in the right direction. The Railwaymen team developed a website for the Frindow social networking platform. Working from scratch and with prearranged designs, we built the platform while fulfilling specification and functionality objectives. Our development team consisted of 5 people: A project Manager, 2x Ruby on Rails Developers, QA Specialist and a Front-end developer. We communicated daily with the client through Slack, Jira, and Zoom and as in the case of each client we had internal meetings – daily stand-ups during the Sprint for tracking the progress. The Challenges Probably the most challenging part was the time of releasing the platform — the period of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic in the world. The COVID-19 forced isolation, and prevented relationships and community building. Due to this difficult and exceptional situation, we had to be prepared for rapid changes and add functionality list updates before release (some features had to be blocked during the coronavirus lockdown and some had to be added or extended). 2. Web App and Features Description Video chat Video calls are becoming increasingly popular among social media users. Thanks to a live video you can enjoy chatting with your new friends. Using instant messaging tools allow you to contact the people selected by you, and the only requirement is access to the Internet. In this case for a video-chat feature, we used WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) which is a technology that enables real-time communication using a web browser. Chat You can use Frindow for yourself, somebody else, or have a joint account for both of you. If you are using the site for somebody else, you’ll be seen as a Proxy User. You can then chat with other Proxy Users or standard users to help get your loved one connected offline or on video chat. Profiles It’s super easy to create a profile on Frindow. Users can choose whether she/he would like to have an anonymous profile or not. They can fill in all necessary data like location, nickname and about me section. By adding photos they can create their gallery with favorite ones. Moreover, the user’s profile is always verified. Confirmed users have a badge on their profile so that they can make an informed decision on who to make contact with. Proxy users – Different types of accounts You can use Frindow for yourself, somebody else, or have a joint account for both of you. If you are using the site for somebody else, you’ll be seen as a Proxy User. You can then chat with other Proxy Users or standard users to help get your loved one connected offline or on video chat. One of the main goals of introducing such functionality was to facilitate the use of the social platform for the elderly. The interface is easy to understand and the platform is intuitive for older users. Groups Group mapping for those interested in various types of similar interests, aggregators where they can meet and talk; automatically joining certain groups, or taking into account the possibilities of a certain group. During COVID-19 there was a special group created for people who felt lonely and isolated because of the coronavirus lockdown. Actively reaching out to other people and asking how they are doing, giving someone support improves their mental health. There are several categories of groups dedicated to different types of users’ needs. Check some examples: Singletons, Mums & Dads, Under 25s, Living Alone, Get Involved, Retired and more. So as you can see each user can find a place for themselves on this social networking platform. Frindow can also provide information about local or national groups or services that may be relevant to you. Forums The discussion forum is used to exchange opinions on various topics. Thanks to groups and forums you can take part in the discussion or just follow the conversation. It is a convenient form of obtaining information, learning the opinions of others, sharing experiences and making contacts. Get-togethers This is a combination of functionalities of an online social networking platform with the offline world. There is a possibility to create a Get Together in or near your local area. Notifications The notifications are automatically sent messages appearing when a user receives a friend request or a message from another user. They also notify about an invitation to a video chat and may contain internal system information. Final Product Results & Further Development It requires constant development in response to user needs. The website has received much positive feedback from users and we are still developing and extending features. We know that enabling the anticipated and stable development with new functionalities and the development of the platform allows clients to maintain a competitive position in the industry. Currently, Frindow is only available to UK residents. They will be expanding into other countries in the near future. Testimonial Overall, I really liked their management and after viewing their portfolio, they seemed very capable of doing what I wanted. Also, they were very supportive of the project itself, which was important to me. More than just being willing to do it, they understood what I was trying to achieve and were keen on helping me obtain my objectives. I’m very fortunate to have the partnership that I’ve had with them. Their team appreciates that we’re a startup and privately-funded project. I’ve received tremendous amounts of work compared to the amount of money I’ve given them. Marcus HamiltonFounder & CEO, Frindow Ltd.